This is where you will find our guidelines for filling in the master data sheet. This page is optimised for mobile devices to help you fill in the master data sheet on site. If your questions are not answered satisfactorily here, please let us know and we will quickly add in missing information. Thank you.
1. Surname and first name
Please only enter the name and first name as they appear in your personal ID or passport.
2. Birth name
A birth name is the surname you were given when you were born. You only need to fill in the field if your name is different due to marriage or similar.
3. Stage name
Please only state your stage name if this is entered on your personal ID.
4. Date of birth
Please enter your full date of birth.
5. Place and country of birth
Please enter your place and country of birth.
6. Marital status
Engaged is not a marital status. Use only the following marital statuses: single (= have never married or entered into a registered partnership), married, civil partnership, separated, divorced, widowed.
7. Address (street and house number, post code, town or city)
The residence details must be correct and complete. Please always provide the house number as well as the street name. You confirm on the master data sheet that you have a permanent residence at the specified place and maintain your own household. If the information is not correct, there will be an inconsistency with the social insurance agency when registering and calculating the payment for your employment.
8. Nationality
Please enter your nationality. Non-EU citizens: You must provide us with a scan or copy of your residence and work permit. It is not sufficient to show these at your place of employment.
9. Telephone and email address
Please enter a mobile phone number and a valid, current email address, you should preferably always use the same one. This makes sure your wages can be settled and paid out quickly and without complications in the event of queries about your account.
10. Social insurance number
You can find your social insurance number on your social insurance card, on official letters from your health insurer, letters from the German Pension Insurance or you can request it from your health insurer by telephone. It is issued for the first time when starting a job (including marginal employment (‘mini jobs’)).
Your social insurance number comprises the following information in the order stated: Area number, date of birth, first letter of your name of birth, serial number and check digit. Example of a social insurance number: 12 123456 A 123.
11. Health insurance
AOK, IKK or BKK is not sufficient information about your health insurance. We cannot calculate your wages with these identifiers. The precise and complete name of your health insurance is a requirement for the calculation. This can generally be found on a health insurance card. Examples: AOK Nordost, AOK Bayern, IKK classic, IKK Südwest, BKK Linde, BKK ProVita, etc.
If you are privately insured, please also state the health insurance scheme here, at which you most recently held statutory health insurance.
We require the additional information for privately/voluntarily insured individuals in order to verify the insurance obligation in health/long-term care insurance.
12. Parent status
Employees without any children pay an additional contribution to long-term care insurance. This additional amount is not paid by individuals who verify their status as a parent, e.g. using a birth certificate, child benefit decision/bank statement or similar. This proof needs to be pre-provided only once.
13. Limit of insurance liability
If your expected regular annual remuneration for work exceeds the limit for the insurance liability in the current calendar year, you are considered to be exempt from insurance with respect to health insurance.
14. Tax identification number
Tax ID is a national, permanent, 11-digit identification number for tax purposes that is given to citizens registered in Germany. It is required to determine your PAYE tax deduction criteria using the ELStAM process. All federal citizens, even children, have had an individual tax ID since 2008. This can be found on your income tax return, your income tax certificate or the information letter from your tax office. If you have misplaced, lost or forgotten your tax identification number, you can find this out again from the Federal Central Tax Office.
15. ELStAM (E)
When calculating you wages, we need to decide between main occupation (tax bracket 1-5) and second occupation (tax bracket 6).
O Yes: Refers to current income that is calculated based on your based on your PAYE tax deduction criteria (tax classes 1-5). Outcome: We will calculate your wages as a second occupation (tax bracket 6).
O No: You do not currently have any income that is calculated based on your PAYE tax deduction criteria. Outcome: We will calculate your wages as a main occupation (tax bracket 1-5).
What happens if you do not tick either of these?
adag Film SERVICES GmbH will contact you and ask you to clarify this question. If we do not receive a response from you, we will calculate your wages based on it being a second occupation as tax bracket 6.
What happens if you have ticked the incorrect box?
If you are currently receiving income calculated based on your PAYE tax deduction criteria (e.g. salary) and you tell us that we can calculate your wages as a main occupation, this will mean the income from your main occupation (e.g. salary) will be calculated as tax bracket 6 in the next calculation. This means that reporting your work to us as your main occupation will result in your main occupation being classified as a second occupation. This has significant disadvantages for you.
Please pay particular attention and care when filling in this part of the master data sheet. If we have registered your work as your main occupation, we cannot change the classification of your current main income as being your second occupation. This can only be done by your main employer or the place from where you receive your main income. Please be aware that mini jobs are often calculated as tax bracket 1. Please ask your payroll department if you are unsure.
16. Bank details (IBAN and BIC)
In the interests of fast and reliable transfer of your wages, your IBAN must always be given in full. For transfers to other EU countries, please also always provide the BIC. We cannot make transfers to banks outside of the EU. Please also note that we cannot always take account of bank details that are frequently changing, in particular in the event of consecutive work days close together, as the data are always taken from the latest master data sheet.
IBAN makeup: The country code comes at the start of the IBAN (e.g. Germany: DE). A two-digit check digit comes next, which protects the payment recipient and payer from transmission errors when entering the IBAN. In German IBANs, the sort code and the account number come after this. If an account number has less than ten digits, the remaining spaces are generally filled with zeros.
17. Main gainful activity
If your activity as a voice-over actor/narrator forms the focus of your gainful activity, you remain an employee (non-continuous employment) under social insurance law; however, you are considered self-employed under fiscal law, and must tax the income yourself. In this case, please provide information relating to your financial authority, tax number, and sales tax obligation. Information on your status and the social insurance law is not required.
The focus of your gainful activity must be reviewed again every time you take up employment, and may change regularly.
The following questions will make assessing your employment easier:
Do you work exclusively, or almost exclusively, as a voice-over actor/narrator?
Do you work as a voice-over actor/narrator, only sometimes, or only very infrequently?
Do you have another main job, e.g. fixed employment or self-employment, which forms the vast majority of your work?
18. Social insurance status
If your activity as a voice-over actor/narrator does not form the temporal and financial focus of your gainful activity, information relating to your social insurance status is absolutely essential.
You can only have one status. For example, if you are a student, you cannot have the status self-employed at the same time. Your classification with your health insurance is often a determining factor. Please enter your correct social insurance status here.
Copies of evidence can be sent to us afterwards directly by post, fax or as a scan by email. We are unable to verify your status without the corresponding evidence, and will not be able to calculate your wages as short-term employment.
The following evidence is required:
Child: No proof of status required
Students aged 15 and under: proof of status required
Students aged 16 and over: Current student ID, students over the age of 25 must also provide a certificate of voluntary/private health insurance*
University applicants: Confirmation from the university; students over the age of 25 must also provide a certificate of voluntary/private health insurance*
Students: Enrolment certificate stating current semester; students over the age of 30 must also provide a certificate of voluntary/private health insurance*
Apprentices: No proof of status required but you must provide the name and address of your employer
Employees: No proof of status required but you must provide the name and address of your employer
Civil servants: Proof of employment or certificate of private health insurance*
Pensioners: Proof of pension or certificate of private health insurance*
Retirees: Proof of retirement; no proof of status required after the age of 65
Homemakers: No proof of status required
Self-employed: Trade license and certificate of voluntary/private health insurance*
Freelance professionals: Written confirmation from the tax office of your tax number and certification of voluntary/private health insurance* or Artist’s Social Security Fund (KSK).
Other status/mini-jobbers: Accounting methods and proof of status required for persons who do not fall under the above categories will be considered on an individual basis.
School leavers: No proof of status required
Unemployed persons: No proof of status required
Employees on parental leave: No proof of status required
Employees on unpaid leave: No proof of status required
* You are covered by statutory health insurance, your insurance certificate must clearly indicate that you are insured on a voluntary basis and that your health insurance contributions are not paid by third parties. Copies of health insurance cards are therefore not sufficient as evidence. If you are insured privately, a health insurance certificate is always required. A health insurance card is also not sufficient in this case. Please submit a membership certificate, an insurance policy certificate, confirmation of insurance cover, a premium invoice, a statement of changes to your policy or another document of this sort.
Proof is also required for members of the Post Office Insurance Fund and Freien Heilfürsorge [public welfare insurance scheme].
All documentation must be from the current year.
19. Details about employment (person in charge)
Please complete all fields about the day of work, work and break times, and gross salary in full and confirm the entries with your signature. Please observe the legal regulations on minimum wage, as otherwise we cannot perform the calculations.
Minimum Wage Law: As of 1 October 2022, the legal minimum wage requirement is 12 euros (gross) per hour. Among other things, the Minimum Wage Law stipulates that the documentation on the start and duration of the work are required. Master data sheets can only be processed if the start of work, the end of work and the duration of breaks are indicated correctly on the master data sheet.
Day of work: It is essential that each actual day of work is provided.
Work and break times: It is essential that all work times and breaks are recorded on the master data sheet.
Gross wages: Please itemise your gross wage (takes, daily rate, allowances) and specify allowances e.g. for working overnight or on holidays accordingly. For non-continuous employees, see main gainful activity (17.); we account the sales tax on the payslip.
20. Employee signature
The master data sheet cannot be processed without the employee’s signature. This is self-explanatory.